Losing Game 7 in the Western Conference Finals to the Golden State Warriors was a crushing blow to the Houston Rockets as they missed two opportunities to eliminate the defending champions and make it to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2015.After winning Game 5, the Rockets held a 3-2 lead and were on the brink of ending the Warriors' dominance in the west.But they suffered a cruel and series-defining moment at the end of that game as Chris Paul went down with a hamstring injury.Paul enjoyed a terrific second half and produced one of the best performances of his career to will the Rockets to a win but it was obvious that his chances of playing again in the series were effectively over.Houston lost back-to-back games without their point guard, who they acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers for this exact moment.It was the latest gut-wrenching playoff injury suffered by the 33-year-old as his latter years with the Clippers were marred by different injuries that cut his postseason short.Sitting on the sidelines and watching his team lose to the Warriors, when he should've been playing in the biggest game of his life, was understandably tough for Paul to take and general manager Daryl Morey explained how he was finding it the hardest of anybody on the team."He took it the hardest, I thought, because he knew if he hadn't had the unfortunate injury, he's dragging us the last (way to the Finals)," Morey said, per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle."He's been there before at those moments and got injured sometimes. Yeah, he took it hard. But you know what, he'll be back. He'll be back 100 percent and we're ready to go."His anger and frustration were visible during that Game 7 as he could see the Dubs taking control of the game in the second half as Houston collapsed offensively:

CP3, who has often been criticised for his performances in the playoffs, was finally changing the narrative as he'd advanced to the conference finals for the first time in his 13-year career.

He posted 27 points and four assists in the Game 4 win on the road and followed with 20 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals in Game 5.

Missing out on the final two games will eat away at the nine-time All-Star throughout the summer but the Rockets have shown they can compete with the reigning champs.

Therefore, they should have the confidence to be back at the same stage again next season and go one better.

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